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Old August 18th 19, 11:28 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Martin Gregorie[_6_]
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Posts: 699
Default Std. Libelle vs Club Libelle

On Sun, 18 Aug 2019 13:13:57 -0700, christoph.barniske wrote:

However, I would not consider a 205 to be a good glider for beginners or
low-time pilots, mainly due to demanding take-off characteristics. On
winch launches, it has a tendency to jump into the air and drop a wing.
Ground runs of aerotows are also demanding due to the poor aileron
effectiveness. Both issues were reduced in later serial numbers through
an even lower main gear and a modified tail wheel mounting which made
the tail stay a bit higher on the ground. The angle of attack while on
the ground was simply a bit too high in the beginning.

That is fixable for the early ones - its a Glasfaser-supported
modification as I said earlier. The 205 at my club was modified last
winter and the syndicate member who pushed for the mod says it has helped
take-off behaviour a lot.

Me? I'll stick with my early (balsa in the wing-skins, upper+lower
surface airbrakes) 201. The only glider I've flown that comes near it for
sheer flying pleasure is a Pegase 90 (later model than the Pegase 101
variants with all controls self connecting).